THURSDAY, August 25, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Lori McClintock, wife of Northern California Congressman Tom McClintock, died late last year after taking white mulberry leaves, an herb used to treat diabetes, obesity and high cholesterol, recently released report shows.

The cause of death listed in the report was dehydration due to gastroenteritis caused by “adverse effects of ingesting white mulberry leaves,” a Sacramento County coroner’s report dated March 10 but which does not was not immediately made public showed, CBS News reported. The document, along with an autopsy report and an amended death certificate containing an updated cause of death, was first released in July.

The Republican congressman first found his 61-year-old wife unresponsive in their California home on December 15, 2021, after voting in Congress the night before and returning from Washington, DC, CBS News reported. Although it is unclear how Lori McClintock consumed mulberry leaves – as a dietary supplement, as fresh or dried leaves, or in a tea – the report states that a “partially intact” white mulberry leaf was found in his stomach.

But Daniel Fabricator, CEO and president of the Natural Products Association, which represents the dietary supplement industry, questioned the cause of death. “It’s completely speculative. There’s a science to this. It’s not just how a coroner feels,” said Manufacturer, who oversaw dietary supplements at the FDA during the Obama administration. CBS News. “People unfortunately go through dehydration every day, and there are a lot of different reasons and a lot of different causes.” Manufacturer noted that if the coroner or family had reported his death to the FDA, the agency could have launched its own investigation.

According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, no white mulberry deaths have been reported to poison control officials in the past 10 years. CBS News reported. And only 148 cases of white mulberry ingestion have been reported to poison control officials nationwide since 2012, most involving accidental ingestion by children 12 and younger, said Kaitlyn Brown, clinical chief executive of the association. CBS News. Only one case required medical follow-up, she added.